Simmonds focused ahead of Irish test
By Gareth Mills
14/3/18
England's focus is on extending their unbeaten run at Twickenham Stadium and not stopping an Ireland Grand Slam, says Exeter Chiefs forward Sam Simmonds.
In their final match of the 2018 NatWest 6 Nations, England face an Ireland side bidding for a third Grand Slam in their history.
However, England have not been beaten at home under the stewardship of Eddie Jones, and still need a victory to try and secure second place as they sit a point behind Wales in third.
There was a similar scenario in Dublin last season when Jones' side were bidding for a Grand Slam, but missed out on a clean sweep after a 13-9 loss to the Irish.
"[That result] it's not at the forefront of our mind, it doesn't come under revenge - we've got a job to do ourselves," said Simmonds. "We've got something that we owe to ourselves and our fans that we don't lose at Twickenham, we want to keep that record going, we want to be the dominant force and put our game on this Irish side.
"Obviously we want to win and that would prevent their Grand Slam and so be it, but first and foremost it's about performing well and then the result off the back of that."
"The home benefits do help I would say, playing at Twickenham is a massive occasion, playing for your country is anyway, but to be able to put on an England shirt and walk out in front of 80,000 people it does give you that boost.
"It gives you that extra bit of confidence that those people are there to support you and your job is then to go out and perform and do what you've been practising."
Simmonds is one of a number of different back row options for Jones this weekend as England look to return to winning ways following back-to-back defeats at the hands of Scotland and France respectively.
Although he has been primarily playing at No 8 for Exeter Chiefs, a position he scored two tries in on his Test debut against Italy, Simmonds is open to any role within the back three of England's pack.
"I do prefer to play eight but that doesn't take away the job as any back rower," he added.
"Six, seven or eight, in this day and age, it's not just about the seven as a ball winner or your six and eight as a lineout jumper, or the eight as a carrier.
"You look at any world class back row and they're all doing the same jobs, so whether I'm playing seven or eight, or even six, in my head it's pretty similar to what I need to do to get right and to perform as an international back rower.
"As long as I know in my mind that my job is to carry hard, tackle hard, clear the breakdown, then it doesn't matter what number is on my back I'm still going to be the same player."